Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Furs and Mathoms

I love the feel of fur, and I do sell pelts at the store because my customers use them in many assorted ways. But I've never been fond of fur coats. Nonetheless, fond or not, I own three of them that I inherited from various women in my life.

My aunt left me her Autumn Haze Mink jacket. It's lovely, butI've never even put it on. It just takes up space in my closet.

I own a shorter Autumn Haze mink jacket that my aunt left me when she passed in the mid-1980's. It's a lovely jacket and I've never worn it.

It's a pretty item, but I've never been fond ofPersian Lamb and I don't wear fur jackets. I wishI had been able to turn down this gift.

I own a black Persian Lamb coat with fur collar that I was given from my mother-by-marriage's estate. I didn't want it and really tried to not accept it, but my father-by-marriage wouldn't hear of my not having it. DH and I figured it was wiser to not upset him, so I ended up with the fur. Again, I've never worn it and it collects dust in my closet.

I actually like the black full-length mink coat mymother left for me. It was a 50th wedding anniversarygift from my father and it's a lovely coat. The main problemis that my mother was several inches shorter than I am,so it hits me at the wrong leg point. Maybe I shouldlook into getting it restyled?

Finally, I own a long black mink coat that I inherited from my mother. I actually do love this coat, and wore it at my mother-by-marriage's funeral service and burial (it was a January day with sub-zero temperatures and that coat kept me warm and toasty in the church at at the cemetery).

So, on my agenda today is bundling up the three coatsinto Minion and taking them to Ribnick's Fur for cleaning,storage and repair. It would be nice to at least feel like I'mtaking proper care of them, even if I don't wear them.

Why bring up coats? It's spring, and I've never had the coats cleaned or stored properly since inheriting them. But it's something I really should do, so I'm adding a trip to a furrier in Minneapolis to my "to do" list for the day. I want them cleaned thoroughly, stored for the summer to keep them safe, and then I'll pick them back up in the late fall. There is also a small repair needed for the black mink. I have no idea what they will charge, but I should at least look into it before giving up on them as ridiculous in this day and age.

I wish there was a Mathom House where I could donate thecoats and not have to worry about them any more.

Have any of you been given gifts that you just didn't want but felt that you couldn't in good conscience give away? That's my situation here. Even though these wonderful women aren't living any more, I'd feel guilty if I gave away something that they treasured. So it will end up costing me a monthly storage fee. *sigh* Happy Wednesday to all. It's looking like my rain will hold off until late afternoon, but it'll be a windy day.